Tag Archives: salad

This past week we were able to get away for a few days vacation at our family cabin. About a 4 hour drive away, our cabin has been in my husbands family for about 50 years. Aside from a few renovations, much of the cabin is still the same and old family photos line the walls. Our kids love our vacations at the cabin. They look forward to it all year long, sometimes going as far as attempting to pack their suitcases a few months in advance. With very limited cell phone and internet service, it’s the perfect place to go to relax. Unfortunately, it’s also the perfect place to overindulge in food and drink and we often come back feeling a little sluggish. This week, it’s time to Continue reading →

This year all the berries and cherries are coming to the market ahead of their usual schedule. From strawberries in May, cherries at the beginning of June and blueberries this past week, it seems like everything is loving the early summer weather. I’ve got to say, I’m loving it to. I’m definitely a sun seeker and am usually more than ready for summer when it arrives. I get pretty excited about all the new produce in the market and find that the change of season brings new inspiration into my cooking. Kind of an “out with the old, in with the new” mentality when it comes to recipes. This recipe came about last week while I was trying to figure out a way to use up what was left of the cherries I had, as usual, over bought. I wanted something light and refreshing and remembered a time I had a roasted grape salad at a restaurant in town that, sadly, closed down a year or so ago. I was curious to see what would happen if I applied a similar idea to cherries. I expected them to taste a little bit sweeter, if anything, which didn’t really happen. They just developed a deeper flavour and tasted a little like red wine. Obviously, I didn’t need much more convincing to carry on with this recipe for roasted cherry salad with maple vinaigrette. I’m just surprised were enough cherries to make the salad after all the sampling I did. I hope you enjoy it!

1 Cup cherries

3 Cups mixed greens

1/4 Cup fresh sage, chopped

2 tbsp chives, sliced

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted and cooled

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp maple syrup

pinch of salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Cut the cherries in half and remove the pit. Then place the cherries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place them in the oven and roast them for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool.

While the cherries are cooling, add the greens, sage, chives and almonds to a large salad bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup and salt. Set aside.

Add the cooled cherries to the greens mixture and toss with the maple dressing right before serving.

Over the past few weeks, I feel like I’ve been posting some pretty meat heavy dishes and have decided it’s time to lighten up the menu a little bit. I’ve also decided that it’s time to play around a bit more with the vegetarian meals we have at home. I try to make a meatless dinner once or twice a week, but lately I feel like I’ve fallen into the rut of making the same few dishes over and over again. In an attempt to change things up a bit I’ve been playing around with tofu. It’s something I have very little experience with other than the few little bits that are usually in my miso soup. Continue reading →

Have you heard the saying “when it rains, it pours”? That’s what this past week as been like for me. All in a good way, but chaotic none the less. There’s a few reasons why it’s been chaotic, some of which are of my own making, but sometimes life just rolls like that. I always make the mistake of assuming that January is going to be a calm month. A month to rest and recoup from the holidays and get back on track. It usually takes me about a week to realize my mistake. This past week, I feel like I’ve been running around like mad trying to get everything done and forgetting a few things along the way. Like yesterday for example; somehow between noon and 3 pm I completely forgot that I was supposed to pick up my order from the local farm that I buy most of my Continue reading →

Like this:

Playing around in the kitchen is my all-time favourite thing to do. A couple of hours to myself with music playing in the background and a recipe idea floating around in my head waiting to get out. With a glass of wine nearby, of course, for inspiration. That’s the dream anyway. The reality is more like this: two little kids trying to “help” by grabbing everything out of the pantry so they can create their own masterpiece, with every Disney princess song ever written playing in the background. And no wine. Let’s just say it’s been a long summer “vacation”.

This is a recipe I’ve had in the back of my mind for most of the summer, but I haven’t taken the time to try it out. This past weekend I finally did and the result was delicious. I hope you enjoy it!

1 Cup uncooked quinoa

2 Cups water

1/4 cup raisins

!/2 cup pistachios

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup orange juice

2 Tsp curry powder

2 tsp honey

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

salt to taste

Place quinoa and water in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce temperature and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes until the water has evaporated. Remove from heat. Let sit, covered for 5 minutes. Cool.

While the quinoa is cooking, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Over low heat, toast the pistachios until just golden. Then set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, vinegar, olive oil, honey and curry powder.

Once the quinoa has cooled, combine it with the raisins, pistachios and cilantro. Toss with the orange juice mixture and season with salt. Chill for 1 hour before serving.